Two Yard Sale To-Dos Most People Don’t Think About
The first year I ever had a yard sale, I had nine of them between Spring and Fall. Four of them were 2-day events and my 3-day event was rained out two days so ended up being a 1-day event. I made several hundred dollars and threw all my profit towards my Student Loan debt. Each time, I learned a little something more to apply to the next time. Today, I want to talk about two things that most people don’t think about, when planning their yard sale, but could end up being a great benefit.
Advertise Your Yard Sale
There are different ways you can advertise your yard sale. Before I started hosting yard sales myself, most of the time it seemed I’d be riding by and see someone with a bunch of stuff outside their home and say, “Oh, they’re having a yard sale.” Sometimes, I see signs posted around the neighborhood, announcing a yard sale. You’ve probably witnessed both: either driving by and unexpectedly happening upon one, or seeing a sign about one. There are other methods of advertising your yard sale, too.
You can announce it in your local paper- including the Penny Saver. There’s a cost for doing so and you’ll have to figure out whether it’s worth it to in your situation. If you have some big ticket items than you have the potential to reach a lot of people through paid advertising. But, if you have a lot of $1-$3 things, it may not be worth it.
You can join a community wide yard sale event and be among those who are included as a host home. That way, you get to ride (for free) on the event planner’s advertisements.
You can announce it on your community forum(s). Next Door is a forum that’s popular here in Maryland and allows general information and event posts. On Next Door, people talk about things they see (both positive and negative); they ask for and/or make recommendations for local businesses; they advertise things they are giving away or selling, things they are looking for, events that are taking place, etc. Your local community forum(s) might have a different name, but it’s a great way to let your neighbors know about your Yard Sale- for free. It may be worth it to see if your area offers something like that, and to sign up if they do- assuming you aren’t already a member.
You can announce it on one of the growing numbers of yard sale or garage sale websites. There you can announce your upcoming event for free. There are people who love yard sales/garage sales and they use these sites to track what events are happening in their area, where, and when. The sites are
very basic. You include the date and time of your event, the location, and normally a few pictures. I recommend pictures of some of your best items- those things that might make an enthusiast drive 20-30 minutes to come to yours versus someone else’s. Craigs List allow you to post your yard sale event.
As a sidebar, Craigslist also allows you to post your bigger ticket items separately, in case you aren’t opposed to someone reaching out to you directly about those items (before or after the yard sale).
On the day of the event, I recommend, also posting yard sale signs in a few key intersections around your neighborhood, with a helium balloon to draw eyes to the sign. Include date, time, and address. I also put flags outside my home so that those passing by can see something’s happening before they even get to the house. You could do something similar. Don’t forget to go back and retrieve these things when the event is over. Don’t leave them to litter the neighborhood.
Schedule a Pick-up
You began this journey as part of your efforts to get rid of stuff you don’t want, don’t like, or don’t use any more. After a long day, or couple of days, the last thing you want to do is drag that stuff back into the house, to do what? Take up more space, or all get packed away and forgotten about again.
To address this, you could schedule a donation truck to come by about an hour after your last yard sale for the summer. Maybe your local Goodwill, Salvation Army, Purple Heart, or other donation center. Anything you were on the border about giving away, you can keep. If you plan to have another yard sale and think it’s worth saving, you can keep it. But those mounds of clothes you know you and your family can’t fit or don’t wear; those 4” heels you don’t wear anymore; and all the other odds and ends that were just taking up space, let them go. Let one of these organizations take them off your hand. In exchange, you can get a tax write-off for the things you donate.
If it’s too short notice to schedule the pickup and you don’t want to drag these things back into your home, load up you all’s cars, van, trucks and drive them to the donation site. It’s not as convenient as someone picking them up for you, but at least you aren’t dragging them back into your home. Once you unload them at the donation center, you won’t ever have to touch those particular items, again.
Conclusion
By advertising your event, you have the benefit of drawing customers that would otherwise not be driving down your street on the day of your yard sale. And it still doesn’t stop those people who are driving by, from stopping in. Including a few pics of your best will help an enthusiast decide whether it’s worth the drip.
